Sara Ramirez was a key part of the Grey's Anatomy cast from Season 2 all the way to Season 12, when she took her leave of the series as Dr. Callie Torres. Fans had reason to hope for Callie to return for at least an episode or two in the years since, but she's been absent, and Ramirez landed a gig on CBS' Madam Secretary. Now the actress has weighed in on whether Callie could return to Grey's Anatomy at some point in the future, posting this on social media:
According to Sara Ramirez in her post on Twitter, CBS wouldn't object to her dropping by ABC to reprise her role as Callie on Grey's Anatomy. If Grey's Anatomy wants her back at some point, CBS and Ramirez herself would apparently be willing to make it happen. Kudos to CBS for being "gracious" and "generous" to Ramirez, especially considering the Grey's Anatomy fanbase would undoubtedly like to see her back in scrubs, even if only briefly.
The reveal that Sara Ramirez and CBS are willing to send Callie back to Seattle to appear on Grey's Anatomy does put some comments from Shonda Rhimes back in August under a new light. When fans asked why Ramirez didn't return for the Season 14 finale that saw Jessica Capshaw's Arizona depart the series to go be with Callie, Rhimes reported that Grey's Anatomy tried to get Ramirez back but CBS would not let her go. At the time, a CBS source reportedly denied that ABC or Grey's Anatomy had asked if Ramirez was available.
Given CBS' denial and Sara Ramirez's comments now, I have to wonder if perhaps Grey's Anatomy never got very far in pursuing Ramirez to return for Arizona's last hurrah, if there was any attempt at all. The finale did have a lot going on even without Callie, and perhaps the manner of Ramirez's departure played a part in why the show didn't bring her back. Shonda Rhimes has stated that she didn't get the chance to really plan out how the show would send off Callie.
For her part, Sara Ramirez has had lovely things to say about the show, and her message of farewell to fans expressed gratitude and her willingness to always be "a part of the Shondaland family." Ramirez has stated that she and Shonda Rhimes agreed to "keep the conversations going," so perhaps Callie could still appear on Grey's Anatomy again. Arizona could even come with her! After how Arizona's exit was handled, fans would surely love to see her back as well. Let's see Callie and Arizona's happily-ever-after for ourselves! Shonda Rhimes recently revealed that she's stopped trying to plan the end of the series, so anything can really happen at this point.
Grey's Anatomy returns to the small screen (without Callie) with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, September 27 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
